The Death Artist
by ErikaNapoleonica
Summary: Submited to the Morbidity Writing Constest! Erik is in Persia, working and experimenting to build attractions for the Little Sultana... why not go deeper into his work? Read & Review! Enjoy the darkness around! Mwhahahaha!


Hey guys! I submitted this to the Morbidity Writing Contest in PFN... And now! Time to post it here! Hope you enjoy it!

Yours ErikaNapoleonica

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**The Death Artist**

The room was completely darkened, and piles of black sacs accumulated dust all over the place. As the door was opened a little light penetrated the black sanctuary, and the man holding the lantern covered his nose with a handkerchief as to not inhale the stench. The two men behind him carried another black sac and threw it to join the others. The three of them left as quickly as they were able to.

Back in the chamber on top of the one they had left, they reunited with a man dressed in black silk. "This way." The man ordered coldly, and the men followed the strange leader whose face was covered completely by a matching mask and whose word was law or else...

The three men followed their guide into a small labyrinth that led to places that for them had been unknown till the day. Underground prisons filled with men of all races, ages and religions; some thin, as they had been there forever, others healthy, fairly just arrived.

The man in black gazed at the faces of the captives, and the prisoners shrank away from his yellow eyes. Tahim, the one man that held the lantern observed the spectacle curiously, the show reminded him of an eagle who studied carefully its prey before swallowing it alive and destroying it.

The man in black, the entertainer of the little sultana, stood erect, with an impressive posture, hands to his back, head held high and stern look.

"That one" he said and gestured with his head towards one of the healthy men behind bars. The other two men that accompanied Tahim opened the doors and took the condemned soul out.

The poor devil struggled against the arms of Tahim's companions. "Do not hurt him! I need him well and unscratched." The entertainer said, and they obeyed, no matter how much the captive fought them, they did not hurt a single hair on his head.

Erik was followed back up and into the chamber of his creations, his artistic nest where he was able to create, explore, expand, invent and destroy. Once inside he gave order for the men to leave the poor, unfortunate devil there… unattached.

"Are you certain, Sir?" Erik had turned around and without a word, but with one look made himself clear. The three men left him alone in the chamber with the condemned.

"Ah! My most honored guest! Do not recoil…" Erik's voice was delightful and inviting, but there was a certain glow in his eyes that was far too dangerous to be ignored. The man who lay on the floor was taller and wider than Erik, but for some reason he was afraid…

He had seen the man before, he was the devil himself! He took life away as if he were God! A wizard of hell that entertained the little sultana with sadistic, ghastly and horrifying games…

"Do you not feel fortunate my friend?" Erik asked with a certain concern in his voice. "You are to honor the little sultana… well, not quite, but almost as good…"

The man observed Erik as he moved towards something that was hidden from view by a dust cover. Erik's gaunt hand skillfully removed the cloth to reveal something that the man's eyes had never witnessed before. He did not know what to name it, but he knew he did not like it. The thing was a square of glass, inside there was a chair, two trapdoors on the floor and a box on one of the shoulders of the chair.

"You look a little… ignorant, would be the word. Do not fret," Erik added with a pronounced smile, "I'll explain." Erik grabbed the man by the arm and sat him on a chair that was part of the strange apparatus.

"See, it is fairly easy to understand, you sit right here… now I hope you do not mind, but I'll have to tie your wrists and ankles… just like that." He said as he performed the actions he described. "It is only a precaution so you are not able to escape… otherwise it would be untidy, and Erik does not like disarray."

Erik moved around in circles. "Well supposedly, now that I have fixed a couple details I have but to pull this lever and this sword here ought to trespass the kidney, liver and right lung… without killing you. Now, last time it did not work that well, you see the poor bastard died immediately and that is not the point, that is not the point… Because if that was the point, there would be no point in this box releasing the scorpions to inject the venom and it would be absolutely ridiculous to release the water, wouldn't it?"

Erik closed the glass door and the man was completely locked inside. "I am now to pull the lever… let us hope it works my friend, let us hope it works."

The lever was easy to pull, and the effects immediate; the first trapdoor opened and the sword pierced the organs Erik had predicted, the man screamed in agony… but did not die… Erik was delighted; it meant he had fixed the correct details. Blood spurted from the perforated spot on the man's right shoulder, red, red blood, falling over his agonizing body, over the chair and finally touching the floor… The man screamed his lungs out, or rather his lung out and called for friends that did not exist.

"Calm yourself down my friend, believe me I do not particularly enjoy the torture…" Erik said soothingly as a smile grew wide across his face. The box on top of the man's left shoulder had opened and a couple of scorpions traveled down the bloody body, stinging here and there… causing visible pain. The man moved abruptly, but his wrists and ankles were tightly attached to the chair.

His eyes were red, and his blood ran all over the glass cage, the scorpions moved underneath his cloth. "What? No!" Erik yelled annoyed, suddenly, the man's head had fallen to his chest. The second trapdoor opened ad the glass cage was filled rapidly with water that took in the red color of the shed blood.

Erik opened the door violently, the water escaped the glass prison, Erik kicked the trapdoor closed, caught both scorpions and put them away and untied the man's dead body from the chair. "Damn it! You couldn't keep yourself alive long enough to drown!" Erik pulled the body from the chair and out the cage; he ringed a bell and the three men that had been with him earlier entered.

The room was completely darkened, and piles of black sacs accumulated dust all over. As the door was opened a little light penetrated the black sanctuary, and the man holding the lantern covered his nose with a handkerchief as to not inhale the stench. The two men behind him carried another black sac and threw it to join the others. The three of them left as quickly as they were able to.

Back in the chamber on top of the one they had left, they reunited with Erik who awaited, still annoyed at his failure. "This way." He ordered coldly, and the men followed him, for his word was law or else...


End file.
